help! nurse or not! i need opinions

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I am a first semester nursing student and it has been completely crazy. I have a b in my class so I'm doing fairly good. I am just scared that I am going to put all this work into it and end up not liking it. I am so scared that I might make the wrong career choice. I would just like to hear some opinions from other nurses. Do you love your job or do you wish you would of done something different? Any help or words of wisdom would be great. It scares me knowing I am responsible for someone else's life. What if I mess up? Just please some words of wisdom so I can find out if its for me and I can get out before it is too late.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

You are going to learn how to be a nurse. They will prepare you for the responsibilities. The correct career choice must be your, and only your decision. I know several people who became nurses, didn't like it, and used it as a stepping stone to go on to other careers. No matter what you choose, there's no promise that several years later you'll be happy. Sometimes in life you just have to pay your money and take your chances.

In nationwide surveys, nurses are usually named the most trustworthy profession. If you try nursing and then change your mind and go into another field, being a nurse will always be impressive. But then, you just might like it and stay with it! Wishing you good luck in whatever you choose.

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Specializes in PACU/ED/ICU.

I can't imagine doing anything else. I have been a nurse >30 yrs. Been in many different areas. I learn something new every day! I have my bad days. It is not an easy job.Sometimes it's the best! Overall, I am happy with my career choice. You will learn. With that you will gain confidence. You will be fine! Good luck whatever you choose.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

I know how you feel. I'm a CNA in a hospital and some of my RN coworkers complain about their jobs and are somewhat bitter. I have had the same worries and I choose to look at nursing like this: I know that I may not always make a huge difference in someones life, but I do make SOME difference. I may not save a life everyday, but I may make someones day a little better when they're sick in the hospital. You're not going to be rich, but you do make a decent amount of money for doing something you like (I like nursing, for the most part, anyway). I just always try to look at it this way, and have a great attitude when I go to work, because I really do love my job. Nursing has it's good and bad days, just like EVERY OTHER JOB! Keep reminding yourself of that. There's no such thing as a job that doesn't make you have a bad day sometimes. :twocents:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Kool-aide, good attitude! do not lose that spirit. :)

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Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.

One of the best parts about the nursing profession is its diversity. If you end up in an area you absolutely hate, than you move on to something else and not have to go back to school.

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.

i believe it depends on where you're employed, and what you do. is management supportive? are there enough personnel to accomplish the job in a safe manner? do you constantly have to watch your back so much that you can't enjoy your work day? are people already suspicious of you and don't even know you? is discrimination involved? questions like these can tell you if you should get out of a place before they get you like they got me.:twocents:

windyhill rn, bsn in 3 weeks:heartbeat

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This is pretty cliche... Just follow your heart. Anything worth having is worth working hard for - right? No one said it was going to be easy.

Good luck to you in all of your endeavors :)

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there's a reason that nursing is such a "popular" profession - and it's not just the money. i'm working on my second degree in nursing and i've enjoyed the experience i've gotten so far. i wish i would've done it a long time ago and saved myself several years of school + debt only to end up back here! can you get a job as a CNA or do some shadowing to help you decide?

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Specializes in Health insurance nursing/ Cardiac nursing.

I thought that I would love nursing, I knew from a young age that I wanted to work in the medical field, now that I am a nurse, I hate it and I constantly consider going back to school for something else. I know it wont happen right now, I don't have the time or the money for it....maybe in the future. I wish I would have went to school for something else in the first place. In most professions a person does not run for hours on end without taking a bathroom break or evening get a chance to sit down, most jobs a person does not get verbally and sometimes physically abused and if they do, there a repercussions. In nursing you have to suck it up and deal with it. I could go on and on but you get m jest. you may end up hating, or you may love it.....time will tell, thats really the only way you will know.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

I ended up working on med/surg. Thought i would hate it but it turns out I love it. I have great co-workers and a terrific boss. It makes all the difference. This is my last career. I wouuldn't want to do anything else! :)

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Specializes in Neuro, ER, Trauma.

I think your thoughts, fears, and feelings are all very normal. Wait until a couple semesters pass and you see 25% of your classmates have either quite of failed out. I have been a nurse since 2005, I was a restaurant manager before that and had no health care experience before. I started working as a tech in the hospital before I started school, because I knew if I could handle the crap end of the job then I knew I was on the right path. Turned out that helping a scared sick person with some of the simplest of bodily functions was much more important than I thought. I have been on an incremental path with education since the start; PCT,LPN, ADN, BSN, and next I'll go for a MHCA. Nursing school is hard, it needs to be. Being a nurse is hard and more rewarding than almost any other job I can think of. I work trauma now, but when I was on the floor I remember getting thank you cards and Christmas cards from patients and families. That "stuff" makes the worst day worth while; you make a real impact in the lives of real people. You need to identify which area of nursing you want to be in, and work or volunteer there as soon as you can. There are many ways to be a nurse, but not having any experience or friends in that area before you finish school will make getting hired very difficult. Another bit of advice, you are not alone in sharing responsibilty for that patient. The health care team each have there areas of importance, you have an important role to advocate for that patient along with performing procedures and medicating. You WILL make mistakes, follow standard precautions and rights of medication, always find the answer to any patient care questions before you get to the patient, and never do anything for the first time without another nurse that has done it before. Stick in there, there's a reason you chose to do this, don't loose sight of that.

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